Sunnism and Shi’ism: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

In the Biennial Willem Bijlefeld Lecture, Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr explored thehistory of the relationship between Sunnism and Shi?ism, which goes back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Dr. Nasr discussed themanipulation for political interests of Sunni-Shi?ite differences by forces both internal and external to the Islamic world and reflected onthe future of therelationship between Sunnism and Shi’ism andthe impact it is likely to have within the Islamic world itself and in its relation to the West.

The Willem A. Bijlefeld Lecture, named after the first director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, brings a distinguished scholar to campus for a public presentation on Islam or Christian-Muslim relations to promote interreligious understanding and mutual respect in the local, national and world communities.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr is University Professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Nasr has lectured widely throughout the United States, Western Europe, most of the Islamic world, India, Australia and Japan. Dr. Nasr is the author of more than fifty books and more than 500 articles.